A Theory of Dreaming by. Ava Reid | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating:

Title: A Theory of Dreaming (A Study in Drowning, #2)

Author: Ava Reid

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: 7/29/25

Publisher: HarperCollins

Categories: Dark Academia, Series, Fantasy, Romance, Politics, Young Adult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to HarperCollins for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Return to the immersive, lush, and dreamlike world of the instantly bestselling dark academia fantasy A Study in Drowning as the aftermath of their first discovery pulls Effy and Preston on a final adventure and brings their haunting love story to its end in this stunning sequel and final book in the duology.

All stories come to an end.

Effy learned that when she defeated the Fairy King. Even though she may never know exactly what happened at Hiraeth, she is free of her nightmares and is able to pen a thesis with Preston on the beloved national fairy tale Angharad. She has finally earned a spot at the literature college, making her the first woman in history to enroll.

But some dreams are dangerous, especially when they come true. The entire university—and soon the entire nation—is waiting for her to fail. With the Fairy King defeated and Myrddin’s legacy exposed, Effy can no longer escape into fantasy. Who is she without her stories?

With Effy under threat, Preston is surprised to discover a rage simmering inside him, ringing in his ears like bells. He begins to dream of a palace under the sea, a world where he is king—visions that start to follow him even in waking.

As the war between Llyr and Argant explodes, Effy and Preston find themselves caught in the crossfire: Effy losing her dreams and Preston losing himself in his.

Are dreams ever truly just dreams?

Content Warning: violence, drug addiction, attempted drug overdose, mentions of child abuse/father-daughter incest

+ The dark academia setting is done really well in this series – especially if you like strictly academia (it’s a hit or miss for me, I have to be in the mood). Effy and Preston are students and very serious about their studies. Effy is immersed in her thesis but she still has her same insecurities about being at the university, and she delves deeper into a depression that Preston and those around don’t really see coming. Preston on the other hand is working with one of his teachers on dreaming but is also dealing with racism against him being half Argantian especially with a war between Llyr and Argant brewing.

+ Effy and Preston’s romance is so sweet but filled with so much angst and fears, especially for Preston who fears he will lose Effy. He is so protective of her.

+ I liked the themes of prejudice that Preston is dealing with because of his ethnicity and Effy dealing with sexism because she’s the only female in her classes. I like how Effy’s research has uncovered how a woman’s writing was overshadowed by a man. There are lots of themes to explore in this one.

~ It took me awhile to get into the story because I didn’t remember much of what happened in book one, but I finally got into it 30% in. It’s a lot of academia, both characters doing research on their own so at times I was bored. Also, the dreaming parts? At times I was confused, at times I was wondering what it had to do with everything.

~ There is mention of an incestuous, abusive relationship mentioned in a letter but still. It’s dark.

~ There is a lot of communication issues between Effy and Preston. I think they are sweet together but they could have helped one another if they talked to one another. I also think I expected more from Effy’s character. She’s smart, and she stayed in the class even when she really didn’t want to be there, she’s brave but she was also mentally declining.

Final Thoughts:

Effy and Preston was dealing with a lot of challenges in their personal lives and there are lots of dark themes that the book tries to tackle. Overall, it was a slow start, sometimes confusing, sometimes boring (because I was not in the mood for a very strong academia book) but I think Effy and Preston’s sweet, angsty love kept me reading.

Book Links:

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A Study in Drowning by. Ava Reid | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Direbound by. Sable Sorensen | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Title: Direbound (The Wolves of Ruin, #1)

Author: Sable Sorensen

Format: borrowed (KU)

Pages: 610

Publication Date: 2/26/25

Categories: Romantasy

Only the worthy survive the Bonding Trials. She’ll risk her life—and her heart—to be one of them…

Meryn Cooper has never dreamed of being one of the Bonded, the King’s elite warriors who form mental links with massive, vicious direwolves. She’s made peace with her life scraping by in poverty in the shadows of the castle. But then her younger sister Saela is kidnapped, stolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fighting.

And Meryn’s world falls apart.

Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army—only to discover that there are Bonding Trials this year, where all soldiers are forced to risk their lives in an attempt to connect with a direwolf. It’s too late to turn back; Meryn is thrown into the deadly competition against her will.

Now, she’ll need to survive the next four months of training at the castle if she wants a chance of finding Saela. Everything here is a test, from the brutal classes where one mistake means death, to the glittering court parties where every smile hides a knife.

To make things worse, Meryn is bound to a feral direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her gorgeous instructor, Stark Therion, is as malicious as the wolves himself.

Everyone is out to get her—everyone but the dangerously handsome crown prince, Killian Valtiere. But if she loses her heart to him, she may also lose her life.

And the castle is hiding dark secrets…

Content Warning: gruesome violence, kidnapping

+ Another hyped booktok book to cross off my TBR list! Meryn is a ring fighter. She has a mother with mental health issues, a young sister she dotes on and a man who loves her. But when her sister goes missing, Meryn has to do everything to get her back and she joins the military. Except right at the time she joins, the kingdom calls a Bonded trial which bonds competitors with dire wolves, if they pass the trials. It’s not something she wants, she just wants to find her sister, but everything changes at the trials. She’s a strong character but sometimes doesn’t make the best decisions but she’s gone through a lot and I did see growth at the end.

+ These story has a lot of things going on – the trials, and then the training for those that bonded to direwolves. During all of this is Meryn needing to find her sister, secrets being revealed, betrayals and of course a hot, training instructor who Meryn butts heads with all the time. There are fated mate bonds, and I loved the found family trope. I loved the direwolves also.

+ The romance present in the beginning of the book but takes a turn for Meryn. There is lot of spice between them but then someone else is introduced. So it will be interesting to see what happens there. It felt like there was a start for it to be a love triangle but I was wrong.

+ I did enjoy the twists at the end of the story and the ending is a cliffhanger.

~ I did find the beginning to be a little bit slow and it is a book over 600 pages. I feel like it picks up at the halfway point. But the pacing was uneven.

~ I can’t say there is anything new in this book but if you like the usual romantasy tropes, then this book will cure your craving. If you don’t like dragons (because it’s sorta similar to Fourth Wing with all the tropes) then you might find direwolves more your thing!

Final Thoughts:

I thought this was a fun read because I don’t think I’ve read anything with direwolves, so that was slightly different. All the tropes from the romantasy genre are there, but that’s nothing bad since I enjoy most of the tropes! I loved the twist and turns at the end. I do think the pacing was uneven, it was slow then picked up then slow again then finished strong. Overall, I was entertained and will read book 2!

Book Links:

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Love at Full Tilt by. Jenny L. Howe | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating:

Title: Love at Full Tilt

Author: Jenny L. Howe

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 7/22/25

Publisher: Delacorte Romance

Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Delacorte Romance for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

In this joyful celebration of fandoms, whirlwind romance, and plus-size girls, love is the ultimate roller coaster ride.

Lia Baker has spent the last few months wishing time would stand still. Soon her friends will head off to college while she’s left behind, buried under her mom’s anxiety and working a job she doesn’t want. But life throws her for a loop when she wins a spot in the fiftieth-anniversary scavenger hunt at Fableland, a legendary theme park. The contest is a golden ticket to a world where her favorite stories come to life and a chance for her to write some new ones of her own.

Everything seems perfect, especially after she teams up with Mason, a cute rival who knows as much about Fableland as she does. Together, they’re unstoppable. But as Mason’s sweet smile starts to melt her focus, Lia realizes that she may have to choose between the future she wants to rewrite—and a love she hadn’t planned for.

Content Warning: fat-shaming

+ This was a cute young adult romance which takes place at an amusement park, just like Disneyland, and there is a competition for super-fans about the park. The winner can win $50,000 and Lia is determined to win it so she can choose her own future instead of the one her parents are pushing on her.

+ Lia is at this amusement park with her two best friends before they go to college. So I like the friendship themes that arise during this trip even if they are challenging issues for Lia and her friends, especially because Lia feels like they are leaving her behind. She’s also dealing with issues from home because her mom has anxiety and Lia being away from has triggered her much more. Lia is trying to figure out her future and her parents are assuming she already knows her path. Another issue that is brought up in the book is Lia’s weight – she’s plus-sized but is mostly confident in her skin until she gets heckled for it, which sucks.

+ The romance between Lia and another contestant, Mason, is really cute and it happens during a week. It is very much a whirlwind romance but I do like that the romance extends after the vacation!

~ I definitely think younger me would have loved this book more – teens will enjoy it!

~ I do think at times Lia came off a little bit selfish. Her friends went on the trip with her to have fun before they left for college and make memories, but Lia was on a mission to win this contest and they tried to compromise and it mostly worked out. But when they would argue, Lia made it seem like her friends weren’t being good friends.

Final Thoughts:

This story definitely brought many coming of age issues like friends going to college vs. you staying home, your dreams vs. your parents’ dreams, body-weight issues, friendship themes and all of this set at an amusement park. The competition was fun and this was a quick read. Overall, I thought this was a cute young adult romance.

Book Links:

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Silvercloak by. L.K. Steven | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Silvercloak (Silvercloak Saga, #1)

Author: L.K. Steven

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 464

Publication Date: 7/29/25

Publisher: Del Rey

Categories: Fantasy, Magic, LGBT+, Romance, Romantasy, Series

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Del Rey for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

In this addictive new fantasy series set in a world where magic is fueled by pleasure and pain, an obsessive detective infiltrates a brutal gang of dark mages—knowing that one wrong move will get her killed. . . .

Two decades ago, the Bloodmoons ruthlessly murdered Saffron Killoran’s parents, destroying her idyllic childhood. Hell-bent on revenge, she lies her way into Silvercloak Academy—the training ground for her city’s elite order of detectives—with a single goal: to bring the Bloodmoons to justice.

But when Saff’s deception is exposed, rather than being cast out, she’s given a rare opportunity: to go undercover and tear the Bloodmoons down from the inside.

Descending into a world where pleasure and pain are the most powerful currencies, Saff must commit some truly heinous deeds to keep her cover—and her life. Not only are there rival gangs and sinister smuggling rings to contend with, but there’s also her growing feelings for the kingpin’s tortured son, with his vicious pet fallowwolf, his dark past, and the curious prophecy foretelling his death at Saffron’s hand.

With each day testing her loyalties further, Saff finds her web of lies becoming harder to spin. And when one false step could destroy everything and everyone she’s ever loved . . . the detective who’s dedicated her life to vengeance just might die for it.

Content Warning: violence, death, drug use, torture

+ Silvercloak introduces us to a world of magic, and to fill this magic well in each person is pleasure and pain. The world-building is amazing – it is lush, detailed and violent. There are mages who uses wands and spells for their magic. There are Silvercloaks who are in essence the good guys, and then the Bloodmoons who are the bad guys – run by Lyrian who acts like a cold-hearted mob boss. Saff is training to be Silvercloak but gets assigned to be deep undercover as a Bloodmoon to gather intel so that their organization can be finally taken down.

+ Saff is an undercover Silvercloak and caught in a mess. Lyrian runs a tight ship and Levan, his son is ruthless and keeping an eye on Saff. She does her best with what skills she has but this being her first real undercover mission – she is not that savvy and makes so many mistakes. I found her to be a fascinating character with her immunity to magic. Levan is even more fascinating with his hard exterior, violent tendencies and yet love for fantasy books. The attraction between them is automatic because in this world, pleasure and pain seem to be there for the taking with anyone they choose. There are a few spicy scenes and it gets creative when using wands and magic! I thought that was fun plus because it’s a world of pleasure – this is a queer community, both Saff and Levan are bisexual.

+ The side characters were great too – I felt like Saff’s friends gave us a lot of insight into her life and world before becoming a Bloodmoon. And the Bloodmoons are interesting too especially when Saff starts to dig into why they do what they do.

+ There is a lot of violence in this book because that is what Bloodmoons are. I liked the twist at the end and it makes me eager to know what will happen in book two. Also I usually don’t enjoy time jumping but this one was easy to follow.

~ I wasn’t 100% on Saff’s reasons for joining the Bloodmoon (the made up reason), clearly someone like Lyrian who has his “eyes” everywhere knows she is a rat – he knows, he just doesn’t have proof but I just kept wondering, why not just kill her? She really doesn’t bring anything to the table here and they were suspicious of her the whole time, but that’s what made the twist more interesting.

~ Clearly this is an enemies to lovers romance but I am still not sure about Levan and how he feels about Saff. Also because they can refill their magic wells with pleasure – I didn’t feel like they had a budding romantic connection at all, more like okay I can help you replenish with this. Do I hope they have a romance? I’m not sure yet.

~ As I mentioned, Saff isn’t the most experienced undercover Silvercloak so there were times I wanted to shake some sense into her. Also, this is adult fantasy but feels young adult or maybe new adult.

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this one, especially the world-building which was detailed. I love the magic and wand wielding. There were some pretty violent and bloody scenes in this one but I thought it was fitting since the Bloodmoons are an organized crime unit. They lived up to their reputation. This was entertaining and I’m looking forward to see what happens in book two!

Book Links:

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Predatory Natures by. Amy Goldsmith | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Predatory Natures

Author: Amy Goldsmith

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: 7/8/25

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Categories: Young Adult, Thriller, Contemporary Fantasy, Horror

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Delacorte Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A teen girl’s dream job aboard a luxury train derails when she discovers the strange cargo being transported—a mysterious and beautiful greenhouse—but its flowering façade may hide deadly thorns beneath, in this atmospheric and lush novel from the author of Those We Drown.

Lara Williams is desperate to get away. When she gets a job working aboard the luxury train The Banebury for her gap year, she this is her chance to reinvent herself, after the incident that wrecked her relationships and her college prospects several months ago.

At first, the train is everything Lara expected—a five-star escape from her past, demanding customers and all. Even after she learns that her ex-friend, Rhys, who she definitely did not have feelings for before their relationship imploded, is one of her new coworkers, she’s determined to make things work.

But on the first night of their journey, the trip takes a strange turn when two mysterious carriages, filled with an array of beautiful and rare plants, are attached to the end of the train in the middle of the night. With them come a pair of siblings. Gwen and Gwydion are wealthy, Welsh, and alluring as they are odd–not to mention, incredibly protective of their botanical cargo.

The siblings claim the plants they’re transporting are for research, yet Lara can’t shake the feeling that there’s something…otherworldly about them. Something that calls to her, night after night, whispering in her dreams.

Soon, Lara will you can’t outrun your troubles. You have to grab them by their roots. And if she can’t dig up the secrets of the Banebury, they might just consume her whole…

Content Warning: plant horror, death, possessive relationship

+ I really like the setting of this luxury train on it’s way through Europe and Lara is working on the train meeting knew people and one person from her past, Rhys, is on the train also. They used to be close friends in high school until some things changed.

+ The setting of the train already lends a mystery to the story but then as more people leave and join the journey and Lara finds something in one of the cars – plants, she’s wondering what is going on. I liked the sense of suspicion around the people on the train and the different personalities Lara encounters. I found the plants fascinating and the Welsh mythology tied to it very interesting. As people start getting hurt and dying on the train, Lara and Rhys try to figure out what’s going on before it’s too late.

+ Lara has a history and there are flashbacks to it throughout the story because she’s on the train with Rhys who is a link to her past. Her story was a parallel to the mythology about the plants so I did like that. In those flashbacks, she’s dating a boy who changes her, molds her into what he wants her to be, is very possessive of her and we see how far Lara has come in her self journey.

~ The beginning was a bit slow because it’s setting the scene and we’re meeting all the workers and passengers on the train, but also because of the flashbacks. I didn’t mind it too much, but it did feel like the story moved slowly because of it. The flashback events do ramp up though and it coincides with what is happening on the train so I did like that.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed the luxury train setting and the mysterious siblings and the plants! I also did like how Lara’s personal situation and growth was a parallel with the Welsh mythology about the goddess of flowers. I think for a young adult thriller, this was enjoyable and if you like trains and some Little Shop of Horrors vibe, you’ll enjoy this one.

Book Links:

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Summer in the City by. Alex Aster | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Summer in the City

Author: Alex Aster

Format: hardcover (own)

Pages: 304

Publication Date: 3/25/25

Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Rom-Com

Twenty-seven-year-old screenwriter Elle has the chance of a lifetime to write a big-budget movie set in New York City. The only problem? She’s had writer’s block for months, and her screenplay is due at the end of the summer.

In a desperate attempt at inspiration, Elle ends up back in the city she swore she would never return to, in an apartment she could never afford (floor-to-ceiling windows, skyline views, and a new coffee shop to haunt included). It’s the perfect place to write her screenplay…until she realizes her new neighbor is tech “Billionaire Bachelor” Parker Warren, her stairwell hookup from two years ago. It’s been a lovers-to-enemies situation ever since.

When seeing him again turns into a full night of hate-fueled writing, Elle realizes her enemy/twisted muse might just be the key to finishing her screenplay… if she can stand being around her polar opposite. She writes anonymously, and he’s on the cover of every business magazine. He frequents fancy red carpeted events, and she doesn’t like leaving her emotional support five block radius.

One summer. One wall apart. He needs to fake a buzzy relationship during his company’s precarious acquisition. She needs to write a movie around a list of NYC locations. Both need a break from their unrelenting schedules, and a chance to rediscover the skyscraper glimmering, pizza crusted, sunlit charms of the city.

Summers always end, and so will this agreement. It’s all pretend. Promise.

Until it isn’t.

Content Warning: parental illness/death

+ I finally read my copy of this book and I’m glad I saved it for summer because I was definitely in the mood for it now.

+ Elle is an anonymous, famous screen-writer who hates New York City even though she went to college at Columbia. But it gives her bad memories of her mom being sick, so college wasn’t easy for her. She also had a fleeting moment with a stranger in a club who ended up being a very famous tech billionaire but she also has bad memories of that too, only because he came off like he wanted to buy her time. Fast-forward a few years and she bumps into him again but this time he convinces her to fake-date him for PR reasons and it will be his one free summer before his company gets sold and he gets busy.

+ I love how the fake-dating and Elle’s screen-writing project takes them all over New York City. The book transported me to the city and made me think of my own fond memories of the one trip I took there years ago. It’s definitely place that feels like anything can happen and the author captures that.

+ Parker is a green-flag fake boyfriend! Even if he came off like he was a jerk in their first meeting, every meeting after that showed how he was a nice guy. I loved him. As for Elle, she’s not going to be likable to many readers because she’s cynical and mad at Parker for nothing. She has major trust issues because of how her dad treated her mom. I can see why she is the way she is. I liked seeing these two people take the summer to get to know one another and it is a slow burn. All the spice comes near the end!

~ This was almost a 4-5 star read for me and then the fake-dating contract ends abruptly, because of Elle and that’s not the only conflict. There is another moment where Elle pulls away again, but I get why because things were happening too soon, too fast and too much, but she so tested my patience. Those two break-ups was unnecessary and brought my enjoyment of the book lower. Parker is a saint for being as patient with her as he was. I get that she had issues but this guy clearly is in love with her and wants to give her the world, patience and understanding that she doesn’t think she deserves. It could have ended perfectly with a happy ever after, but those two moments just ruined it for me.

Final Thoughts:

I saw that this book was going to made into a movie and I think it will be great as a rom-com film because of how it’s set in NYC. Even though I didn’t love the break-up moments, I still think overall this is a fun, perfect for summer reading, rom-com book. I also think I like this author’s contemporary book more than her fantasy series, and will be interested to see if she writes more.

Book Links:

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Enigma by. RuNyx| Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Enigma (Bloodwing Academy, #2)

Author: RuNyx

Format: ebook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 463

Publication Date: 4/29/25

Categories: Dark Romance, Dark Academia, Gothic

Enigma, a twisted Hades and Persephone meets scorching dark academia romance—a tale of love and obsession between two rivals.

There are secrets she must uncover.

There are secrets he must keep.

Salem Salazar is fascinated with death. The black sheep of her scandal-ridden, wealthy family, she arrives at Mortimer University as a legacy on the hunt for answers about what happened to her perfect, older sister. There, she discovers that her sister is far from the only girl to have gone missing at Mortimer. Salem will do anything to discover what dark forces are killing Mortimer’s students…even if it means using herself as bait.

And Cazimir van der Waal has caught her scent. The mysterious artist and teaching assistant has a dark past, a hidden agenda, and a ravenous appetite for a beautiful, golden-eyed girl who seems determined to risk her life.

Where she is ice, he is fire. Where she is organization, he is chaos. Where she is precision, he is passion. Together they are explosive–their fates linked as secret societies and death stalk them both.

Enigma is a sensual, epic love story for those who also crave the frightful, the puzzling, the suspenseful, the dangerous and the dark.

Welcome to Mortimer.

Enigma
*Dark academia romance
*Steamy suspense
*Rivals to lovers
*Secret societies
*Forbidden love

Content Warning: death, mentions of suicide,

I have never read a book by this author and finally got this one since it was on Kindle Unlimited:

+ Our main male character Caz is a tortured soul, he’s a TA, an artist with a pencil always in his hand but he’s got anger issues. When he zeroes in on Salem, it’s over, he is possessive and wants her bad. Salem has the same attraction towards him, but she really wants to wipe that smirk off his face. She can’t stop wanting this bad boy artist.

+ I do think this book was more romance focused but I didn’t mind because I thought Salem and Caz’s relationship was really addicting. He’s filled with passion and anger and she balances him even though she has a cold and icy personate, inside she’s really not and they complimented one another. His possessiveness is kind of toxic but it works out for them! It is spicy but nothing too overboard.

+ The atmosphere was gothic and dark academia which I enjoyed a lot. It was perfect for the mystery of the deaths on campus and rumors of a secret society. I also thought some side characters were really interesting and wanted to see more of, like Baron.

~ Didn’t really see the rivals to lovers between Salem and Caz. Caz is a teacher’s assistant, so I feel like they weren’t really competing for anything in class, maybe the scholarship? But even with that it wasn’t like they were in a fierce competition for it.

~ This story was more focused on the romance, and I feel like it needed more when it came to the mystery of the deaths and secret society department. Salem is studying criminology and I didn’t think she did much with the investigation except for a few things. Baron and Caz kept things really hush hush and there wasn’t a lot of information coming from them either.

Final Thoughts:

I wasn’t sure how I would like this one but it was a nice little escape and I enjoyed the dark romance between Caz and Salem. I also liked the dark academia setting, I just wish there was more about the secret societies and maybe a little more suspense.

Book Links:

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His Mortal Demise| Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice:

Title: His Mortal Demise ( The Last Bloodcarver, #2)

Author: Vanessa Le

Format: hardcover (owned)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 3/16/25

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Series, Romance

These Violent Delights meets Divine Rivals in the explosive finale to The Last Bloodcarver duology — with a riveting medical magic system and lush Vietnam-inspired romantasy world.

Kochin is a heartsooth — a rare being with the ability to heal any wound. Any wound, that is, except death.

Intent on defying nature and bringing Nhika back to life, Kochin keeps her body in a life-preserving casket and waits for a miracle. Stricken with grief and descending into madness, Kochin realizes the answer to his desperate quest can only lie in one place: Yarong, the lush yet battle-ridden island the first heartsooths called home.

Months later, Nhika wakes in a familiar manor-house, with Kochin nowhere to be found. As she traces his footsteps across Theumas, she discovers the haunting path he walked to bring her back, and a world changed by war.

When Kochin discovers the true and grisly way to resurrect a person from the grave, he must decide exactly how much he is willing to sacrifice, in order to reunite with the woman he loves…

Don’t miss this stunning dual-POV follow up to THE LAST BLOODCARVER, where morals will be tested, hearts pushed to the limit, and fates determined once and for all. Vanessa Le’s jaw-dropping sequel is a bloody and luscious spectacle to be devoured in one sitting.

Content Warning: violence, death, war

+ I loved The Last Bloodcarver and with the way it ended I knew I had to read book two. It picks up right after the events of book one which was pretty devastating. Nhika gave her life for Kochin and now he is trying to save her too but it looks like an impossible mission.

+ Kochin has changed after the events of book one and now with losing Nhika he feels like a madman who’s grieving her and yet not able to let go. He goes to war just to see if he can find a way to bring her back to life. He loves her so much and I felt heartbroken for him.

+ This does a happy ending but I was worried for a moment. I love when Kochin reunites with Nhika – they belong together and I just love their relationship so much.

~ There is war breaking out in Theumas and it’s where Kochin believes he has to go to find the answers to bring Nhika back to life but this is told in flashbacks and I didn’t love that, mostly because I don’t usually love flashback in most books. It got a little confusing until the story came together later on in the book.

Final Thoughts:

Overall this was a solid conclusion to this duology and I really enjoy how unique this story is with the heartsoothing. I love that we get to see Kochin’s journey through grief and madness until he is reunited with Nhika. I love them together. I didn’t love the flashbacks but I was satisfied with the ending. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Book Links:

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Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

The Last Bloodcarver by. Vanessa Le | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Shield of Sparrows by. Devney Perry | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️

Title: Shield of Sparrows (#1)

Author: Devney Perry

Format: ebook (borrowed – KU) but I also have the hardcover 🤭

Pages: 528

Publication Date: 5/6/25

Categories: Romantasy, Magic, Fantasy, Romance, Series

Shield of Sparrows is a slow-burn, high-stakes romantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros―where enemies become lovers, monsters stalk a cursed realm, and a forgotten princess finds the strength to tear off her crown and become the warrior she was never meant to be.

The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel.

I’ve spent my life kneeling―to their will and to my father’s. As a princess, my only duty is to wear the crown and obey the king.

I was never meant to rule. Never meant to fight. And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood.

But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room. The day a legendary monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince ruined my life.

Now I’m crossing treacherous lands beside a warrior who despises me as much as I despise him―bound to a future I didn’t choose and a husband I barely know.

Everyone wants me to be something I’m not―a queen, a spy, a sacrifice.

But what if I refused the role chosen for me? What if I made my own rules? What if there’s power in being underestimated?

And what if―for the first time―I reached for it?

Content Warning: violence, death

This was one of the most hyped books in the past few weeks and I fell into the hype and bought the book not knowing it would have been available on kindle unlimited anyway! So I read it on KU because it was easier for me and I put the book trophy on my shelf – it’s a gorgeous book.

+ I really enjoyed the world-building in this story. It’s a world of different kingdoms and there is some politics going on. This world is dangerous with wild creatures always being fought off and a migration of crux (deadly winged beasts) about to take place. There is magic, a lot of secrets and mystery in this story. There is also a mysterious illness affecting the wild animals, so Odessa is trying to help investigate that.

+ Princess Odessa Cross is the eldest child of the King of Quentis and always blending in the background and hiding. It’s her sister who was trained to be Queen and Odessa basically accepts this fate until fate is changed for her by the Prince of Turah who demands to marry her instead of her sister. Odessa is not trained in kingdom politics, or swordplay – her sister was trained to be a spy, not Odessa. She’s flawed, she asks lots of questions but she is not spy material or an assassin at that, but she tries hard and she’s a good person. I think there was a lot of growth for her in this first book.

+ The Guardian has a reputation and Odessa spends more time with him than her actual husband. So it’s not a surprise that an attraction grows between them. He is a protector, he is fierce and menacing and always drenched in blood after killing these beasts that have been attacking the kingdom of late. Odessa finds him irritating until he grows on her. But he trains her to fight, and he’s more than patient with her I’d say. This is a slow burn romance with hardly any spice. But I did love the romance once it got going and some of the secrets and truths are revealed.

~ This is a long book and it does move slowly because it is focused on world-building. But even with the world-building and learning about the different creatures that are terrorizing towns, some things were still left a mystery and will probably be more explained in book two. Things pick up in the second half of the book and the ending finishes with a lot of action. It leaves us with more questions for the sequel.

~ The romance was too much of a slow burn for me. I thought the romance was lovely but I still wanted some of the secrets to be revealed earlier because I could figure out what it was. Odessa spent a lot of time telling the Guardian, Ransom, how much she hated him. It got repetitive and I just wanted her to move on from that because he really wasn’t hateful. That man was keeping her alive!

~ Another thing about Odessa, she was thrown into this role of Shield of Sparrow without any training but wow was she bad at trying to find out information for her dad. And the way that everyone basically betrayed her made me wonder what good is all her questioning (she asks a lot of questions) if she can’t discern who to trust? Is she asking the right questions? She did grow up a princess and maybe not the favored one but I expected her to have some grasp of court politics or be wary of who to trust?

Final Thoughts:

I read this in a cloud of hype and I should have waited to get a better idea of this book without the hype. But after processing my thoughts though, I felt like this book moved too slow for me. I did like the world building – I like the monsters, the magic, the mystery of the disease in the animals, learning the characters and the politics. I even enjoyed the romance, once there was romance – it was too much of a slow burn for me. The second half of this book moved quicker and the ending was filled with action. I did enjoy it and I look forward to reading book two because of all the questions I was left with.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Love Haters by. Katherine Center | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Love Haters

Author: Katherine Center

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 5/20/25

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Categories: Contemporary, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

It’s a thin line between love and love-hating.

Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West.

The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but fakes it that she can.

Plus: Cole is Hutch’s brother. And they don’t get along. Next stop paradise!

But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good looking man she has ever seen . . . but also a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful Aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two.

Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue—along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.

Content Warning: negative body image, death of parents, mention of accident, water rescue in a hurricane

+ Katie needs to keep her job so she agrees to go on an assignment she is only half qualified for. But she’ll do anything, even take swim lessons in a bathing suit even though she has major body issues. She meets Hutch, who is her supervisor’s brother, and is the person she needs to make a documentary about. Katie is pushed beyond her comfort zones but it helps her grow a lot.

+ What makes this book so charming and probably are my favorite parts of this bookis the Gals (the bunch of elderly women at the place she is staying at) who is trying to hook her up with Hutch in subtle ways. And then there is George Bailey the sweetest Great Dane ever! He’s scared of thunder (just like my dog!) and loves to hold toads in his mouth – I loved him so much! Also Katie’s best-friend Beanie was a lot of fun, plus their phone calls are very relatable if you have a best-friend like that.

+ I feel like Katie’s body image issues are so relatable. There were so many times she said something and I was like yeah, I’ve thought that of my body before. It’s crazy and sad to know how mean we can be to our own selves. But you could tell Katie’s issues were painful for her and she’s been working on herself.

+ The romance was a very slow burn, there is no spice, there are a few kisses and that’s it. I think I wanted a little more flirting on Hutch’s part though but I think that’s just his personality. I thought the two of them had a nice friendship and banter going throughout the story.

~ Really wanted a little more chemistry between Katie and Hutch but like I said, I think that’s just both their personalities and it worked for them at least. They are both “love haters”.

~ Pacing wise, I think there was a little lull in the middle, probably because Hutch wasn’t the best at flirting haha, and then there was lots of action at the end which I enjoyed.

Final Thoughts:

Katie and Hutch really complimented each other – they had fun banter and he really helped her with accepting herself but she also helped bring his family closer in a way. I did want more chemistry and flirting but that’s just personal preference. Overall, I thought this was an enjoyable read especially with George Bailey, the Gals and Beanie bringing in the charm and the laughs. Definitely a fun read for the summer!